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The head of Ontario’s police watchdog has slammed Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair for ignoring complaints about his officers obstructing investigations, reigniting a heated public spat with the force.

Ian Scott, director of the Special Investigations Unit, blasted Blair Thursday for not replying to more than 100 letters outlining concerns about officers’ failure to co-operate with investigations.

“It says to me that he’s not that interested in working out a protocol to resolve issues between the Toronto Police Service and the SIU,” Scott told the Star.

A Toronto police spokesman quickly fired back, calling the comments “insulting” and accusing the watchdog of overstepping his authority by demanding Blair report to him.

“Mr. Scott has been told, ‘You have no authority and you should not be making these requests.’ That is absolutely clear,” said spokesman Mark Pugash.

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Over four and a half years, Scott said he has sent 106 letters with various complaints, including that some officers delay reporting serious injuries or provide incomplete or blacked-out notes. He has received only one complete response, he said.

The chief’s silence sends a message that co-operation does not matter, Scott added.

“If his staff were looking into the issues raised in the letters . . . then the message would be sent that the concerns the chief has about their duty to co-operate with the SIU were being treated seriously,” he said.

“I presume that message has not been sent, because I’m not getting any answers.”

The Star asked Blair to speak on the conflict directly but was told he was out of the office and unavailable.

Speaking on his behalf, Pugash pointed to a 2011 report to the Attorney General’s ministry that says police chiefs — who also investigate cases in which the SIU is called in — must report their findings to the police services board, not the SIU.

“The SIU director’s authority does not extend to requiring the chief of police or OPP commissioner to investigate or report to him and should not be part of the SIU director’s communication with the chief of police or OPP commissioner,” the report states.

The SIU is a province-wide civilian agency that investigates when police are involved in incidents that result in serious injury, death or allegations of sexual assault. Officers are required by law to co-operate with investigations.

Scott’s relationship with Blair has often appeared tense. Earlier this year, the SIU director accused the force of refusing to provide a vital document in an investigation, which the Toronto police replied was not theirs to give.

Pugash said the force is not looking for a fight with Scott, but found his comments about Blair, made initially on CBC’s Metro Morning, to be offensive.

“We’re not looking for any sort of public disagreement. We’ve let these go, but his comments today, I think, demanded a response,” he said.

Toronto police employs SIU liaison officers who work with the agency to resolve issues like the ones outlined in Scott’s letters, Pugash noted.

“Our people day-to-day have a very good relationship with the SIU and that’s what we want to continue. Chief Bill Blair’s commitment to civilian oversight is unmistakable.”

In response to Pugash, Scott said he is aware Blair is not required to reply to his letters, but he wants to work out a protocol to resolve issues where it appears officers are violating their duty to co-operate.

“It’s very easy for these issues to get lost in a general conversation between SIU liaison officers, who change very frequently, and supervisors at the SIU. In my view, these issues should be resolved by the heads of the agencies.”

Scott, whose five-year term ends in October, said other police forces, including the Ontario Provincial Police, do reply to his letters and have been receptive to working out such protocols.

“The OPP are excellent at responding. If I raise an issue . . . they look into it and get back to me,” he said.

Asked to provide the number of letters sent to the OPP and responses received, Scott said he was unable to crunch the numbers Thursday.

The most recent data available shows the OPP had only responded to two of Scott’s 47 letters by 2011. However, Scott said communication had improved in the past two years under Commissioner Chris Lewis.

Retired chief justice Patrick LeSage, who wrote the report to the Attorney General’s ministry referenced by Pugash, agreed Blair was not obligated to respond to the letters.

LeSage said he was asked to write the report because of ongoing disputes between the SIU and various police forces. One of the top complaints, voiced by several including the OPP, was that the SIU director kept sending them letters, he said.

“The issue was that they didn’t think they needed to respond to them and the SIU didn’t have any right to demand they did,” he said.

He attempted to clarify in the report that the SIU is not an oversight body like a police services board. Its role is to investigate serious incidents involving police and citizens, not to oversee police policy, he explained.

But Peter Rosenthal, a University of Toronto law professor and lawyer, said Blair should be going above and beyond what’s required to communicate with the SIU — especially after the Sammy Yatim shooting shook public confidence in the force.

“Why not be very happy to embrace the SIU and try to improve policing in general?” Rosenthal asked. “If Chief Blair had that open, positive attitude, that would influence his officers to be co-operative too.”

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